Looks like Wes gonna be out for the season

comment by Chelseamf™®© (U1677)
posted 29 minutes ago
Forgetting about the academy attachment for one second.
I'm not one to pigeonhole Fofana and James together...

They difer in that the latter has credit in the bank from previous where he has displayed genuinely high level performance on a consistent basis over a long period for Chelsea and a difference-maker of his calibre is extremely difficult to replace, akin to Kante (can't say that same about Fofana).
So on that basis I'm inclined to give Reece leeway.
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Sorry dude - James credit run out seasons ago,he had leeway due to the "career saving surgery" ........that obviously hasn't worked

There's no conclusive evidence to claim that the surgery has worked or not, as the issue this season was on the leg which wasn't operated on...

Anyway I'm prepared to be patient with a high quality player in Reece that has demonstrated he can play 2000+ minutes on average for 4 out of 5 seasons (which is equivalent to about 25 matches a season) at Chelsea thus far.
All the time in the world to get back to optimal fitness.

Reece minutes at Chelsea completed seasons (all competitions):
19/20 - 2,513 minutes played
20/21 - 3,275
21/22 - 2,862
22/23 - 1,936
23/24 - 482

I'm not giving up on that, you can.


Fofana at Chelsea:
21/22 - 1,068 minutes
22/23 - 1,765

Oh I most certainly am, as the last couple of seasons he has played some minutes but an absolute ghost of a player from 20-22. Honestly can't remember the last time James put in a shift rather than look like a complete zombie on the pitch. And how can I say the surgery hasnt worked.....well his knee is fooked again from just getting out of bed, certainly wasn't football related Put him out his misery and shift him to Spain for a holiday

And seriously comparing him with another sick note doesn't help your cause

Mf,

I think its about perspective & actually what is relevant to club with all of these highest earners at the club.

At some point a line is required to be drawn imo.

The club has only a set number of allocations for players on the highest wage band.

In each case the club has been patient

James has played 11,068 minutes equating to 122 games over 6 years , 20 per season, he has failed to make the impact at the level he is paid to do for at least 50% of that time.

He is on 1m per month , to date he has cost the club in excess of 50- 60m for his contribution to date.This would be fine if had able to reach his potential as the player he could be and had given the club on the pitch the regular game changing performances that he is capable to do.

Which he has not, finally after all of this unconditional support, patience & investment the club own a player who is undervalued and bleeding the club financially.

Its is not his fault, it is just the reality of his situation. The club is continuing to be affected by his inability to play and the other issues we have in defence.

Which brings us on to Fofana, who unfortunately since day 1 has not been fit enough to play and possibly should never have been bought considering his injury concerns prior to joining and the concerns with Reece.

Next another 10m per season defender the talented Mr Chilwell, again his body cannot support his ability.

That leaves us with highest earner in the club, the overly temperamental Raheem Sterling, another unquestionable talent, but the 325k per week doesnt seem to enough of a motivator for him to get his 5 hit together on a consistent basis.

Admittedly, he perks up when he is in contention for an England place

These five players are our highest earners , they cost the club 65m per season in wages and a further 50m + in amortization.

They are currently bringing zero to the table, these squad places should be filled by players who are game changers, match winners, players who will make the difference every season.

This issue imo accounts for our defensive woes, which has been going on since Rudiger left.

When these players are gone and their places filled by the footballers who will accomplish this, imo we will be challenging for the title, simples

Oh and a final word on this, due to the consequences of James & Fofana the club has been forced into buying other defenders who are clearly not at a level the club require to build a side who can challenge going forward.

Diasasi & Badiashile are not currently at a level to provide confident cover for Fofana.

You're underestimating James' seismic ability and how hard it would be to replace talent of that size.
Why you stated James in particular as one of the players "bringing zero to the table" I don't know...it's erroneous. Can't accept that.

Very much the opposite in James' case. Impactful player and a difference-maker, typified by his entrance from long-term injury into a volatile Forest match away last season.
James being subbed on at that moment brought control + impetus to proceedings and literally flipped the game on its head, the catalyst in coming back from 2-1 down and that was only for the final 11 minutes of the match as a pertinent example.
The definition of a game-changer and match-winner.
Revisionism and selective memory is absurd.

Gusto was bought into deputise for James, not Disasi and he's been ok also had injury challenges at some points. No version of Gusto is currently on that level offensively and definitely not defensively, very few are.

That's the last I'll say on the subject.

Mf, im not denying Reeces true ability, but as i originally flagged it is about perspective and context, imo.

Unfortunately his contribution to the team & club has been sporadic & unreliable & inconsistent for the last 3 years, due to his injury issues.

For sure we have fleeting glimpses of the true James, but titles are not won on fleeting glimpses.

He is paid the rate he gets to be the player the defence is built around and to be that game changer he has the ability to be.

It hasn't worked out, add Fofana & Chilwell to the equation, imo that is why the defence is in the state it is.

This has been an issue for several seasons as i explained.

This has pushed the club into buying players it didn't need.

The Fofana-James difference is irrelevant as we're stuck with both of them. Both have a long time to run on their contract, both among our highest earners.

I will say James at least has a bit more to extract for the club's benefit. He can be transformed into a RCB or DM in the future to cover up the injuries robbing him of his dynamism. Off the field we can start getting him working on his badges (if he's interested). Fofana is just a bit of a waste, an anchor we won't dislodge for the next five years.

Yeah , we are heavily committed to both.

James was given a new contract in 2022 , 6 years valued at 13m per season. At the end of this season he will stand us in 39m over the last three years of his contract.

Fofana was also given a 7 year contact valued at 10.5m per season, at the end of this season his contract will stand us 42m.

He was bought for 70m amortized over 5 years @ 14m per season, after this season he will also stand us in another 28m for the last 2 seasons of his amortization.

This brings our responsibility to him at the end of this season 70m.

The injury issues these players suffer are disastrous from a long term financial perspective and from the loss of potential & ability that both these player bring to the side.

Imo, we will have James for another couple of seasons & Fofana for at least 3 seasons if not 4